Going into last weekend’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. made it clear he and his No. 88 Chevrolet team were going to take risks, hoping to pull off a much-needed win to secure himself a spot in the 16-driver playoff this fall.

During the Overton’s 301 on Sunday, Earnhardt gambled – electing to stay out on the track for a late caution – and it didn’t pay off. After everyone else pitted, he couldn’t hold onto the lead and ultimately finished 18th, describing the move on social media as a Hail Mary when you’re down by 14.

“It was a bad gamble, but we gotta win so we can’t sit there and just run 10th,” he said on Periscope after the race. “I don’t know what else we’re supposed to do.”

Just because it didn’t work this time doesn’t mean he’s going to abandon his gambling strategy.

Currently, Junior is 21st in the driver standings, meaning it’s unlikely he’ll make the playoffs based on points. So with only seven races left in the regular season, he has to win one to compete for a championship in his final full-time season.

“That’s probably not the last time you’re going to see that kind of gamble from us up until The Chase. So we’re gonna have to try and throw these Hail Marys as often as we can and see hopefully if something might work. But to be honest with you, we’ve got to have a faster car to make that gamble work, and we’ll see how that happens going forward.

“Showed up this weekend, 20th off the truck, around 20th in qualifying and 13th in the last practice – that kind of stuff just ain’t gonna get it. The 42 (Kyle Larson), 78 (Truex), all those guys are flying. We need that kind of speed to be able to try to get these wins.

“Up until we gambled, I had a pretty good time driving the car and racing around everybody. My car would get real good on the long run and it didn’t take off very well, but on the long run, it was pretty fun. So got to race around a bunch of folks and pass some guys, but 18th ain’t fun to look at on paper – I’ll tell you that.”

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